


Stingray F.I.M.

by Always_Dreaming



Category: MotoGP RPF, Motorcycling RPF, Stingray (US TV)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Fantasy, M/M, Mermen, Stingray - Freeform, Underwater, Underwater Sex, merfolk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-11
Updated: 2018-11-12
Packaged: 2019-05-05 06:01:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 18,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14611059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Always_Dreaming/pseuds/Always_Dreaming
Summary: The Stingray, a highly sophisticated and secret combat submarine of the Federation Internationale Marine division (F.I.M), a security organisation in the year 2065.The crew of the vessel—square jawed hero Captain Marc Marquez, sensible Commander Pedrosa, straight talking Commander Rabat and imaginative Lieutenant Alex Marquez—are sent to find out who has stolen the FIM’s flagship, the Orca.The underwater world is full of surprises—friendly and hostile creatures with unfamiliar customs and traditions, which show the submariners ways to live they’d never thought of before…And Luca Marini is a merman.





	1. Underwater Mission

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DanisAngel26](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DanisAngel26/gifts).



Captain Marc Marquez woke in the middle of the night to see a flashing alarm next to him. It was the one which rarely, if ever, went off. He stumbled out of bed, grabbing his F.I.M. uniform as he went. This must be very serious if his employers used that alarm. 

He leapt into his hover car and raced to the F.I.M. base. He knew he could handle anything, but were his crew members up to it?

At the base, after passing through many security checks, the captain greeted his team: his best friends Tito Rabat and Dani Pedrosa, both commanders, and his younger brother, Alex, a lieutenant.

“Gentlemen,” said the stern-faced Admiral Suppo from the F.I.M. “We are faced with the greatest crisis this organisation has ever met.”

The quartet waited expectantly.

“Our flagship submarine, the Orca, has been stolen from its secure harbour in the ocean port. No one knows how, as it was triply secured and had an underwater locking device.”

The team gasped with surprise.

“So the thief must be very skilled at underwater work, and probably has a base under the ocean as the Orca hasn’t been seen since. So it’s now time for—” he paused dramatically, adjusting his cap. “—Stingray to be deployed on a search and rescue mission.”

The crew of the Stingray punched the air and prepared for the launch. Their first mission in a long time!

***

The Stingray was highly sophisticated combat submarine built for speed and manoeuvrability and only a few people had been trained how to pilot her. Many years of study and practice had led to the crew working as a well-oiled machine, knowing each other’s next move and even thoughts.

“Where do we start, captain?” asked Commander Pedrosa. “I’ve prepared a thorough overview of all nearby waters that are traversable.”

“Well done!” exclaimed Captain Marquez.

“And I’ve done a thorough assessment of our weapons capability, solved any problems and strengthened potential weak spots,” said Commander Rabat, not to be outdone.

“Splendid!” The captain patted him on the shoulder.

There was a silence, and everyone turned to look at Lieutenant Marquez, who was writing in his notebook.

“Lieutenant?” enquired his brother.

“Yes? Oh. Er—I mean—aye aye sir! I’ve done a thorough stocktake of all supplies we’ll need, both in the galley and other equipment, to make sure we won’t run short.”

“Excellent!” said the Captain. “Full steam ahead, my good fellows.”

The Stingray shot away from the underwater base, following the most likely direction to investigate and into the unknown.

***

As the Stingray travelled along in silent running mode, disguised from assailants by a forcefield and using its highly classified power source to move without making a sound or vibration in the water, the four crew members got on with their tasks. Dani studied the display screens for signs of disturbance, Tito monitored the weapons, Alex the radar, and Marc supervised them all.

As Alex looked up from the radar screens, a blur outside the porthole caught his eye and he stared. The dark water was broken by a silver blur. Was that—a person?

“Marc!” he said to his brother, who was busy poring over ocean charts with Tito.

“Hm?”

“There’s someone out there. In the water. A person.”

“Don’t be so silly!” barked the Captain. “No one could survive at this depth of the ocean, they’d suffocate within a second. Stop reading your fantasy books and get on with observing the radar like I asked you to.”

Alex gasped.

“Please,” added Marc, thinking he’d been too harsh.

The younger Marquez turned back to his work, keeping an eye on the water outside though. His patience was rewarded, as this time a face appeared at the porthole. A beautiful face with crystal blue eyes and hair the colour of sand. The mouth smiled and Alex realised it was a male face. He gazed at it, bewitched, for a few moments.

A sudden wave of panic broke over the young submariner—he must rescue this man from the ocean before he drowned. What could he do? He was about to jump up and do something, anything, when the face retreated from the porthole and Alex saw the whole person—well, the whole creature. For the beautiful face was attached to a beautiful body. With a shining, powerful, silver tail from the waist down. The creature was keeping still in the water, hovering somehow, gazing, then flicked his tail and swam off in a flash.

Alex remained staring at the empty water, wondering if he was dreaming, then realised his brother and Tito were staring at him. He must have made some kind of noise to get their attention, without realising.

“What’s wrong now?” asked Marc.

“Oh! N—nothing. I’m fine. Just—er—remembered something.” He pretended to study the course charts, his mind elsewhere however, full of a handsome merman.

The Stingray forged ahead but Alex heard a lilting tune playing, it was like a piano or a harp, or something. Some instrument he hadn’t heard before. Was it real or in his head? He looked round to see his crewmates continuing with their tasks—they didn’t seem to hear any tune. He strained to listen, and as he did so, words came into his head, he wasn’t sure where from, but he knew he wasn’t making them up himself:

_Marini, Luca Marini_  
_What are these strange enchantments that start whenever you're near?_

_Marini, Luca Marini_  
_Why can’t you whisper the words my heart is longing to hear?_

_Your magic to me, a beautiful mystery_  
_I'm certain to fall I know, because you enthral me so_

_Marini, Luca Marini_  
_Why don't you say, that you'll always stay, close to my heart?_

What did it mean? Alex looked out of the porthole for a clue, but there was only the dark, rolling ocean.

Just then there was a loud bang and violent jolt, making the three submariners jump. The Stingray stopped dead in the water.

“What the hell!” shouted the Captain, and they all ran to the viewscreen to see what had happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another one of my silly stories to pass the time. I intended this to be one chapter but it will have to be more.
> 
> I thought of this because the song from Stingray ‘Marina, Aquamarina’ is going round in my head and it fits SO WELL with a certain person.  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQMDGleWGr8
> 
> Also, aspects of The Shape of Water have invaded the plot, which I also haven’t seen. And the Levis advert, Underwater Love.  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XYgeBJyQOk


	2. Underwater Enemies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Stingray crew are captured by some mysterious creatures with sinister plans for them.

Dani clicked various buttons to make the picture clearer and they realised the submarine was caught in a net. It was huge and glittered like the sun on the waves, which was odd because they were deep underwater where hardly any light could penetrate.

The Stingray’s engines were roaring but not having any effect as the craft remained stuck in place.

“We need to shut them down, sir!” shouted Tito as he watched the display go from amber to red.

As if to reinforce his opinion, a voice boomed through the Stingray’s intercom. “Shut down your engines!” it ordered. “They won’t work for much longer and we want your vessel undamaged.”

“Do as he says,” instructed Captain Marc, and the frantic screaming diminished to a hum, then became silence.

Before they could do anything else, the crew felt the submarine moving gently. “Don’t try and escape!” shouted the voice. “You are now our prisoners. Prepare to be boarded.”

“Then prepare to fight!” replied the captain. “We won’t be taken easily!”

“If they take us out of the Stingray, we can’t breathe in the ocean at this depth, we’ll die!” warned Dani.

The voice sounded confused now. “We need you alive. Await instructions.”

“What the hell?” blurted Tito. “They want our submarine and us? We must stop them.”

“Hm…we might have to play the long game here,” whispered the captain as he huddled his crew together. “We are helpless down here so we might have to get among them and plan our escape from within. I’m not letting them take the Stingray.”

Alex wondered if the voice ordering them about was the merman he’d seen outside in the water. But surely, he wouldn’t be so severe, he was too handsome.

***

The next thing they knew, the Stingray was moving again, and it was drawn into a long, dark tunnel which seemed to go on forever, climbing higher and higher, but at last after an apprehensive twenty minutes, it emerged into the light.

The submarine was pulled up to a port and the viewscreen flickered into life. The four crew members jumped when they saw a green scaly creature, humanoid in features but with a crest similar to that of a lizard’s on its head.

“Prepare to be boarded!” it shouted.

“The aft hatch is opening!” cried Tito, grabbing his phaser, as the other crew members grabbed theirs.

Four of the green scaly creatures in uniforms marched in and seized the four submariners, who struggled with their assailants, but the amphibians were far too strong and they were dragged out of the Stingray.

On deck, the crew was relieved to see their vessel was on the surface—such an advanced craft could perform at any depth. They were further surprised to see it was tethered to a dock, and in the distance there lay the golden sandy beach of a rocky, volcanic island.

The submariners stared and gasped but were quickly marched up the dock and towards the island.

Alex saw a merman lying on a rock near the beach and clutched at Dani. “L—look!” 

“What?” said the commander, and by the time he’d realised where he was supposed to be looking, the merman had disappeared.

“Never mind,” said Alex. Was he going insane, seeing mermen everywhere?

***

The Stingray crew were marched into a cave further up the island, at least it looked like a cave from the outside, but inside it was sumptuous, with crystal walls of all colours, azure blue pools dotted around, and a throne upon which sat another amphibian, wearing a crown and a gold outfit. Alex assumed this was the king of the creatures.

“Bring them to me!” he ordered and the quartet were marched towards him.

“This is outrageous!” shouted Captain Marc, his eyes blazing. “What is the meaning of this? You can’t capture us without abiding by the Geneva convention! All prisoners must be treated well and their nations informed!”

“I know nothing of your Geneva convention,” hissed the king. “We are the Aquaphibians, we are the true owners of this planet! Prepare to hand over your weapons and vehicles, we will use them to destroy humans!”

The Stingray crew members gasped, but each one determined in his own mind that he would fight to the death to stop this happening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story will go quite fast as I'm not happy at the moment and need a distraction. What better than a fantasy story to do that.


	3. Underwater Entertainment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Aquaphibians show off their lifestyle to the humans. Alex makes a new friend.

The Stingray crew were held in one of the cave’s ‘rooms’ with Aquaphibian guards at the door. It was a pleasant room, a bit stuffy, with a raised pool in the middle of it, which was deep and dark, and looked like it went out into the ocean.

“Here is our escape route,” whispered Captain Marc as he huddled with his comrades.

“Can we hold our breaths long enough til we surface the other side?” asked Alex.

“We’ll have to go and see how deep it is, then form a plan.”

“Silence!” shouted one of the guards. “No whispering or we’ll separate you!”

The submariners exchanged glances and went silent, each thinking what to do.

But before they could come up with anything, another pair of Aquaphibians came up to the guards and gave them some orders. They were wearing purple robes and the guards eventually stepped aside to let them through.

“You will come to a celebration banquet now,” barked one, addressing Marc because they knew he was the senior officer.

“What’s it for?” he asked. All the amphibians glared at him.

“To celebrate our capture of your craft and yourselves! You must come at once.”

The Stingray crew members bristled, but Dani spoke up. “At least we’ll get some food, I’m starving and I’m sure you all are.”

So they went with their captors.

***

When they reached the banqueting hall, the king sat on his throne, attended by minions, and everyone else sat at long tables facing him. The humans were placed right in front of him in the middle of one table and servants brought them plates of fish and poured drinks into cups. The crockery was made of what looked like mother of pearl, shimmering in the light of…what? Dani glanced round to see that the walls of the cave were covered in patches of what looked like phosphorous, which gave a bright, yellow light, making the cave dazzling. The crystalline walls gave off interesting shadows which diluted the light a little, and the reflections from the pools that were in every cave, added vertical shimmers as well. It was like a kaleidoscope room.

The king announced, “we celebrate the capture of these humans and their craft today, which will allow us to declare war on their people and claim this planet for ourselves!”

The submariners exchanged shocked and disgusted glances but remained sitting quietly because they were outnumbered. Luckily the excited reptilians around them were too interested in their meals to take any notice of the prisoners, and a hubbub of talking and laughing rose.

Alex noticed a raised tank of water to the side of the king and wondered what it was for. To drink? To store fish in? He frowned.

Tito took a sip from his cup, then spat it out in disgust. “This is sea water! It’s revolting!” he shouted, eating some fish to take the taste away.

The swish of Aquaphibians’ voices hushed at once, and many stood up, clenching their fists and turning to Tito threateningly.

The king also glared at the humans. “How dare you insult our hospitality? You will be sentenced to death if you don’t take that back!”

Dani stood up, looking tiny next to his tall colleague.

“What is it, child?” asked the king, more gently, thinking the slight commander was a youngster.

Dani ignored the mistake and said, “your majesty, we are human. We need fresh, non-salted water or we will die within a few hours. If you need us to pilot our submarine, you need to keep us alive. And I’m sure your benevolence would never allow you to kill helpless prisoners.”

The king called his advisors round him and they had a discussion, but the Stingray crew were unable to understand their underwater language. Eventually a couple of the Aquaphibians hurried off and returned with a jug of clear liquid. They brought it to Marc, who poured a glass and tasted it, as his crewmates watched nervously.

“Excellent!” he declared and downed the glass in one.

The amphibians cheered, and one shouted, “hail the great king, for he is wise beyond his years!”

The submariners suppressed their laughter and continued to eat their seafood dishes and drink the clear water. The food wasn’t nice, but it was necessary.

After a while, the king said, “and now for our entertainment.” He signalled a minion, who blew into a large spiral shell, making a note much louder than expected.

Unfamiliar music played, and the large tank of water rippled, catching the submariners’ attention. A merman swam into it, and the humans gasped, especially Alex. Was it the one he’d seen outside the porthole? Or on the beach? He gaped at the creature, who was swimming up and down, turning over and over in a complicated dance.

“I knew I saw a merman when we got here,” he murmured to Dani, who nodded.

“They are real then? Or is it someone wearing a fake tail?”

“I’m sure he’s real.”

Dani wasn’t so convinced though, he was enjoying his fresh water.

After the initial interest in the entertainment, however, the humans turned to their next course, which looked like seaweed. After the fiasco with the drinks, they didn’t dare complain, so cut little bits off the plants to test them out. It was surprisingly good, so they tucked in.

Alex, of course, was intrigued by the merman. The other diners were completely ignoring the busy creature, which was very rude, in the young lieutenant’s opinion! He didn’t fancy the seaweed so he quietly left his chair and crept towards the tank where the merman was dancing. The crew were chatting among themselves and even some of the Aquaphibians were paying attention. But Alex wasn’t interested in them.

He crept closer and closer until he was standing right at the glass wall of the tank. The top half of the merman was obviously human, and his skin was a pale, almost silvery colour. Alex wondered if and how mermen worked out, and what sort of exercises they would do? He looked like he went to the gym a lot, with his perfectly sculpted muscles. Of course he had no body hair either—he wouldn’t, being an underwater creature—so his chest was clearly defined, as were his arms. 

The part where his abdomen became a tail was even more intriguing. The human muscles slid so neatly into the silver scales as if they were meant to—which of course they were. Alex was aware his thoughts were getting a bit tangled and flustered as he gaped at the beautiful merman.

He finally looked at his face and had a shock. The poor thing looked so bored and uninterested, as if he’d done all these twirls a million times, which he probably had. Impulsively, Alex put his hand against the glass and the dancing creature jumped in fright at the noise. So the young man waited patiently. 

Slowly, the merman swam closer, peering at him intently, and eventually put his hand on his side of the glass to match Alex’s. The young submariner suppressed his excitement at connecting with a sea creature—he didn’t want to scare him even more. So he just smiled a little instead of jumping up and down as he wanted to. The merman gazed at him intently, his crystal blue eyes actually showing some spark in them at last, then looked at his hand, and at Alex’s hand, comparing them. They were the same. A broad smile broke across the beautiful face, and Alex’s heart did a little flip as he smiled back. 

The pair stared at each other for a while until there was a sudden hoot from the seashell horn, and the merman leapt back into his routine of twirling and rolling.

Annoyed, young Marquez stamped back to his table and sat down with a bump. He was so focused on the encounter with the merman, that he knocked a jug of sauce all over himself and sat there covered in the pinkish liquid.

There was a shocked silence, then the king began laughing, and so did everyone else after a second.

“Go back to our room and change,” said Captain Marc with a sigh. “You brought some spare clothes from the Stingray, didn’t you?”

“Yes.” Alex sighed and stamped off again. What a clumsy idiot he was.

***

When he returned to his cave, escorted by a guard of course, he asked the guard to wait outside for modesty’s sake. He didn’t want a reptilian ogling him.

As he was changing clothes, a sudden splash from the pool got his attention, and he looked over to see a sandy coloured head poking out of the water. He gasped loudly, and the head dipped down again.

“Don’t be afraid,” he whispered, peering into the pool. It was the merman, he knew it! He just knew.

He was right, because the creature in question bobbed up, with a scared but curious expression on his face.

Alex smiled gently. “Hello, my name is Alex.” He pointed to himself. “What is your name?” 

The handsome blond stared at him, screwing up his face as if trying to understand. “Name?” he asked. 

“People call me Alex when they want to talk to me. What do people call you when they want to talk to you?”

“Allllexxxx.” He rolled the name round his mouth like he was tasting it. “My name…it is…Luca Marini.” His voice was like the swishing of a gentle tide and Alex gazed at him, mesmerised.

The name was the one from the mysterious song! _Marini…Luca Marini._ The one he’d heard on board the Stingray. How could this be? The young lieutenant’s heart began to pound, then he suddenly noticed Luca was wearing a collar—a thin silver one, but a collar nonetheless.

“Are you a prisoner? Are there more mermen here?” He wanted to know so many things but was afraid of scaring his new friend away.

“They brought me here when I was young. I am the only one.” 

They stared at each other. 

“Do you go in the water?” asked Luca. “You look dry and hot, come in the water.”

Alex realised he was only wearing his underpants, so blushing, he said, “only if you don’t watch.”

The request took a while for the merman to understand, but in a few seconds, he turned his back and the young lieutenant slipped into the pool.

“I’m here now. Nice water,” Alex said, bobbing up and down a bit. “Do you dance for the king every day?”

The merman’s face fell, and he turned over and dived down to the deeper parts of the pool, leaving Alex floating at the surface. The young submariner cursed himself for bringing up a difficult subject and wondered how to get him back.

Suddenly Luca popped up again, looking frightened. “Where is your tail?” he demanded. “You have—le—legs instead of a tail!” He backed away. “You’re like THEM!”

“It’s alright. It’s okay,” soothed Alex. “I’m not an Aquaphibian. Or any type of a water creature, I live all the time on dry land. ” 

“Dry land?” Crystal blue eyes peered intently at him. “There’s only one island in the world, where the Aquaphibians live.”

“No, there are vast continents we live on, out of the water.”

Luca burst out laughing. At least Alex assumed it was laughing, it sounded more like hissing, but the beautiful face looked as if he was laughing.

“You are making a joke. The world is made of water.”

“No. I’ll show you my home one day. It’s not near water, I live in the mountains.” The young submariner smiled gently as the merman looked disbelieving.

“Alex!” shouted a bossy voice. “What are you doing in there?” Captain Marc strode in, frowning. “Why are you bathing in there, you’re meant to be at the banquet.”

Alex looked round, but the merman had disappeared and the water was calm. “I—er—I fancied a swim—er—”

“Really! We’re imprisoned and you’re practising breast stroke. Get out at once.”

Alex pushed himself out of the water in one movement. Looking round as his brother marched him out of the room, he saw the flick of a silver tail at the surface of the tank.


	4. Underwater Plots

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Aquaphibians reveal their evil plans, but love is in the air.

The Aquaphibians were actually, fascinated by the humans. They were amazed by their soft pink skin, their fluffy hair and lack of fins and webbing. Most of the time, each submariner was surrounded by a gang of groupies following him around peering at him, stroking him, flinching when he moved.

Marc quite liked it. Dani didn’t. Tito got annoyed. Alex didn’t notice because his mind was full of a merman.

Captain Marc and his crew bided their time, not causing any trouble or even asking about the Stingray…waiting…watching… But it wasn’t long before the Aquaphibian king just had to start boasting about his brilliance. 

When the monarch summoned the Stingray crew to his lounge, he began with a statement about the Orca, as he sat surrounded by minions and bodyguards.

“When we took your first submarine, we had overestimated its capabilities. It’s not like me to make a mistake, but sadly this time I did.”

The submariners weren’t sure what he wanted them to say, so just nodded sympathetically.

“We thought that one had all the capabilities we wanted but it didn’t, so we took your craft instead. We need you to pilot it, which is why we captured you as well.”

“So, what capabilities are you looking for?” asked Marc innocently.

“We need great firepower and speed, and of course you humans.” The king smiled in a smarmy way.

The quartet exchanged glances.

“What do you want us to do with our vessel?” blurted Tito.

“We need you to take it to your human underwater bases and destroy them!” The king burst into maniacal laughter.

The submariners bristled.

“Never!” shouted Tito and the others nodded in agreement, glaring at the king and his entourage.

“Why the hell would we?” demanded Marc. “You’re asking us to kill our own people!”

“Because if you don’t, I’ll take one of you prisoner and execute him!” boomed the king, jumping up suddenly and shaking his fist in the men’s faces.

“Just you try!” shouted Tito.

But before they could do anything, four amphibian guards suddenly grabbed Alex, who yelped.

“Why do you think my subjects have been following you around for so long? To find out who is the weakest member of your crew!” The king cackled.

Alex blushed painfully, Marc leapt towards him, Tito grabbed one of the soldier’s arms and Dani raised his hands trying to calm everyone down.

“Your brother is the youngest and we’ll keep him prisoner til you destroy the F.I.M. base!” shouted the king to the captain.

More guards rushed in and restrained the submariners, and the king strode up and down in front of them.

“You will be our secret weapon. You’ll strike with no warning as your vessel has stealth capabilities. It is only fair. We have our secret weapon, so—”

“A secret weapon?” asked the captain quickly. “What’s that?”

“We have underwater capabilities,” said the king conceitedly.

“Well…you are amphibians,” said Marc.

“Ah but we have an even better secret weapon.”

Tito opened his mouth to speak but one look from his captain silenced him.

“I’m sure you made an excellent decision, your majesty,” continued Marc smoothly. “It’s only fair that you tell us.”

The king almost inflated with pride. “I put the plan into place many years ago, and now we have our own underwater operative, who can breathe underwater with no restriction like sadly, I and my fellows have.”

“Sorry, I don’t understand.” Marc played dumb.

“The Aquaphibians can only breathe underwater for a limited time, but merfolk can breathe indefinitely.”

At this comment, Alex’s head snapped round in horror.

“Yes,” continued the king. “The merman dancing in the tank is our secret weapon. He freed your first submarine from its moorings when no one else could.”

The lieutenant’s mind was racing. _Luca said he was brought here when he was young. He’s forced to dance and entertain the Aquaphibians. Not only is he a prisoner, he’s being forced to do their dirty work too. That collar on his neck—no doubt it’s some kind of control device which hurts him when he disobeys, or surely he’d have swum away long ago to find the other merfolk. I’m sure Luca is a gentle creature with no bad intentions._

Marc however, had the opposite idea. The merman was in league with the amphibians, and not just a harmless entertainer. He set his jaw and determined to destroy the whole community before he’d let them destroy humanity…

The guards marched Alex away to be detained.

“Make sure you help us,” sneered the king to Marc. “Or your brother will not survive…”

***

When Alex was thrown into yet another cave-room, his heart sunk. This was a lot more basic than the room he shared with his crew mates—nothing of luxury at all, just bare walls. He was so angry about Luca’s situation! He looked round the room and noticed it had a pool too! He almost laughed because he hadn’t noticed it at first.

He ran over in excitement and peered into the water. The guards had gone, so he shouted, “Luca!” into the dark depths.

Almost before he’d finished the word, a bullet shot up the water and burst out of the surface. Alex stared at the merman flicking his hair out of his face, and they grinned at each other.

“They took you from your family when you were little!” blurted the lieutenant. “They’ve kept you alone all this time!”

“You’re a prisoner like me, I must help you escape!” exclaimed Luca.

“H-how did you know I’m a prisoner?”

“I hear everything underwater. Sound travels down. But I can help you!”

They stared at each other for a moment, then Alex held out his arms. The beautiful merman leapt towards them and the pair held each other tightly. Luca was balancing in the water, his silver tail swishing frantically. 

Crystal blue eyes met soft hazel as they continued to gaze.

“We’ll help each other,” said Alex, unable to look away. His curiosity about kissing a merman took over, so he leant forward very slowly so as not to frighten Luca and kissed him on the lips. Alex was relieved that his top half was like a human’s, including his mouth and tongue. His lips were smoother than human lips and he could feel the merman trembling. Hopefully not in fear. He stroked the sandy coloured hair and they settled against each other. It was painful leaning over the poolside but the lieutenant would never let that stop him.

Eventually they had to stop for breath.

“Wait,” said the merman, and turned back into the water without a splash. Alex waited anxiously, hoping he hadn’t hurt or upset him, or crossed some mer-boundary he didn’t know about.

Luckily it was only a few minutes later when Luca resurfaced.

“Are—are you okay?”

“I couldn’t breathe,” explained the handsome merman.

“Oh! Of course, sorry.”

They gazed at each other again, smiling goofily.

“So, they kidnapped you and keep you prisoner,” said Alex at last. 

“Yes. I can’t remember my people. Only a vague memory of an older brother.”

“You poor thing. My brother is annoying but at least he’s there for me.”

“I’ve never seen anyone else like me.” Luca looked so sad that Alex hugged him again, stroking his smooth, slippery hair.

“We’ll find your people again, I promise.”

The merman snorted disbelievingly. “I’ve called for them many times but no one answers.”

Alex wondered how to bring up the topic of the other submarine and decided to just be blunt. “The king said you stole the Orca from us. Why?”

“An Orca? I can’t steal a living thing.”

“Not a whale. It’s the name of our first submarine.”

“Oh. That. I had to, I had no choice.” Luca sighed sadly. “They keep me confined apart from when I do their missions. I don’t know why they wanted that thing.” 

The lieutenant felt another wave of relief. _I knew I was right! He’s the innocent captive of these monsters!_

“I’ll save you from them,” promised Alex, daring to stroke his face. The look of delighted surprise was worth it.

There was a sudden commotion at the door to the cave, and Marc burst in, fighting off his guards.

“I must see how you are treating my brother!” he shouted, then saw Alex entangled with the merman. “Get away from him!”

Alex opened his mouth to argue, then nearly fell into the water as Luca leapt away from him in shock and dived into the pool.

“Now look what you’ve done!” shouted the younger brother at the older, clenching his fists.

“That merman is in league with the Aquaphibians,” hissed Marc, pushing Alex away from the watching guards. “I know you love dreaming about fantasy creatures, but this is not a game! He took the Orca!”

“I know!” Alex wouldn’t normally dare to argue with a captain but this was his annoying older brother. “They forced him to!”

“Don’t believe a word of it! These sea creatures are all in league. I forbid you to speak to him again!”

The Marquez brothers glared at each other.


	5. Underwater Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Young love blossoms.
> 
> This chapter contains merlove. Mersex. Merman sex. You know what I mean.

Alex refused to talk to Marc for the next few days, and stayed in his prison-cave, the only visitors were guards bringing his meals. To his disappointment, Luca didn’t appear in the pool. So the lieutenant passed the time somehow—planning how to save Luca, how to save himself, how to save the Stingray, how to save the human race. There was a lot to think about.

Then one day, he heard a swishing noise in the water.

“Hello,” said a familiar voice. The young submariner jumped and turned to see Luca treading water nearby. If merman did tread water, obviously they didn’t have feet, so he was more just suspended there. Alex was transfixed—Luca’s expression was nothing like it was when he had first appeared in the tank, where he’d looked bored, unhappy. Now his eyes were sparkling and his lips upturned into a big smile. He looked so handsome.

“Where have you been? Stealing more submarines?” The lieutenant could have bitten his tongue—what a thoughtless thing to say!

“No. Why?”

“Sorry, it was a stupid joke. Where have you been?” Alex didn’t want to sound like a jealous lover, but he did.

“I didn’t want to get you in trouble with your brother, but I couldn’t keep away.” 

Alex had never seen a merman blush before but it was pretty, a pale pink which if possible, made his eyes even more blue. He stared at him, mesmerised.

Luca held out his hand and smiled more. “Come. You don’t need those clothes.”

The lure of the crystal blue eyes was too much, and the younger Marquez took off his uniform and underwear as if in a trance. He was half embarrassed and half curious when his cock bobbed up as if on elastic and he stole a glance at the merman. To his satisfaction, Luca was staring open mouthed at the sight without hiding his interest.

“I’ve got one of those,” he said.

Feeling a huge wave of relief to hear that, Alex wondered what a merman cock would look like, and tiptoed towards the pool. Luca beckoned with his head, fluttering his eyelashes and looking like a siren luring a sailor into his lair, as the legend went. So the young lieutenant slipped into the water.

“There,” said Luca, drawing their bodies together and kissing him. When their naked chests touched they both felt a tremor of desire from their lips right down to their hard groins. They kissed urgently for a long time, then Alex couldn’t resist any longer—he had to find out what a merman’s cock was like. He stroked his hand down the muscular torso and abdomen til it touched hard flesh, and Luca jolted.

The cock felt familiar, maybe a bit smoother than a human one, and Alex tried to peer down at it without being too obvious. Of course, underwater creatures notice everything, and Luca pushed him away a little so they could get a good look at each other.

The water disguised Luca’s cock a bit, but it looked silver like his tail, with a slight pattern of scales, but they weren’t rough or sharp. It fitted Alex’s hand perfectly, it was full and smooth and jutted out of the top of his tail, where the cock would normally be on a man. As if his tail was jeans which he’d unfastened.

To Luca’s eyes, the human cock looked soft and pink, with many folds. It was definitely different. He tentatively put his hand round it and Alex squeaked, which made them both giggle. The loud human laugh made Luca jump but his lover reassured him by stroking his hair with his other hand. The merman was amazed at how hard the human cock was and it felt hotter and stickier than his own.

The couple kissed again, more passionately than before, and when they stopped, Luca was breathing heavily, even uncomfortably, finding it hard to get enough oxygen from the air.

“Get in the pool.” Alex pushed him underwater to help him breathe, and he resurfaced after a few minutes.

“I want you,” he announced. “You know.” Again, he indicated with his head and eyes towards what he wanted.

They kissed again but Alex had too many questions and pulled his mouth away quickly.

“How’s this going to work?” he blurted. “We can’t do it on land because you can’t breathe. And we can’t do it underwater because I can’t breathe.”

“I have an answer for that.” The merman turned away and brought his hands out of the water to make a dome shape. He raised his hands higher and further until the dome was as big as it could be without touching himself or Alex. It was half water and half air, like a goldfish bowl.

“Come inside and we can both breathe.” Luca pushed forward into the dome, which looked like a huge soap bubble—transparent and shining. He held his hand out and Alex moved through the thin wall. To his surprise it didn’t pop like a bubble, it just closed behind him again.

“Can you breathe alright?” said a voice in Alex’s mind and he gasped, looking round at Luca.

He tried to say what he wanted in his mind, as the merman had. “Can we talk in our thoughts?” The lieutenant was shocked to get a reply.

“Yes, all underwater creatures can.” Luca’s hissing laugh echoed out again as he saw the surprised expression.

“How does this work?” Alex looked round in wonder at the bubble, which had grown larger to accommodate them. “It’s amazing.”

“I don’t know, but I’ve always been able to do it. You just have to trust me.”

“Okay…What about sharks and things? Can they get in?”

“No, they keep away from me, they know I can beat them. Are you ready?”

Alex smiled. “Yes! Oh yes.”

The handsome silver tailed merman led the submariner by the hand downwards into the water and the bubble followed, encasing them totally as they descended. Alex felt a thrill of arousal, plus a shiver of fear—what if Luca was luring him to his death? But he trusted the merman for some reason.

As they sank in the water, Luca reached out of the bubble and slapped the surrounding water with his hand, in a way which made it go into a frenzy and ripple away from the bubble in strange patterns. Alex hoped that was to warn predators off, as he’d said.

He stayed near Luca in the bubble, treading water and wondering how they were going to fit together, even though he’d been thinking about it constantly for days—well, nights really. 

“You’ll have to help me,” said the merman suddenly. “I haven’t done this many times.”

The lieutenant wondered what he meant—had he had sex with another human? Or an Aquaphibian? But he was too excited to care—he spent far too much time thinking about things and now was the time for action. He indicated with his fingers how they should position themselves, then Luca spoke in his mind.

“That looks good.” 

Alex smiled, and tipped backwards in the water, his legs naturally rose and he wrapped them round Luca’s shoulders. The water supported him perfectly so he flung his arms out to rest on it, like a warm embrace holding him. The bubble moved naturally to cover his shape and he relaxed. 

The merman gazed into Alex’s eyes questioningly.

“You can touch me,” said the young submariner in his thoughts, so the merman felt for his hole and pushed his fingers in. They went in surprisingly easily due to the ocean making everything wet, then he moved so his cock was at the entrance. It also went in with little trouble, again due to the water and also the smoothness of it. Luca pushed it in bit by bit though, not wanting to hurt Alex, then the lieutenant tightened his legs and pushed against him and the lovers were locked together perfectly.

_This must be underwater love_  
_The way I feel it slipping all over me_  
_This must be underwater love_  
_The way I feel it_

_This is it_  
_Underwater love_  
_It is so deep_  
_So beautifully liquid_

Alex had feared it would be difficult having sex underwater but it wasn’t. On land it would have been impossible with one partner having a tail, but underwater it was perfect—every time Luca flicked his powerful tail, it pushed him forwards into Alex with a mighty thrust, filling him like a dream. The water in the bubble splashed around wildly as they moved together.

His eyes rolled back and he tried to keep his mouth shut to prevent water getting in, but in his mind, he was screaming in extasy as he felt full and stretched in the best way. He could hear Luca’s tail sloshing in the deep water in big regular movements and felt hypnotised. They were in the ocean under the tunnel leading to the pool above, but as they were protected by their bubble, the dark embrace of the water made it feel intimate.

_This must be underwater love_  
_The way I feel it slipping all over me_  
_This must be underwater love_  
_The way I feel it_

_Follow me now_  
_To a place you only dreamt of_  
_Before I came along_

He gazed at the merman, whose eyes seemed even brighter underwater, almost glowing blue. The muscles of his arms and chest rippled and moved, mesmerising the lieutenant.

Alex didn’t realise how he looked to Luca—a tanned, supple land creature bending back to show his long, perfect body. The merman liked what he saw. He’d also been afraid of what body parts a human would have—he’d been surprised when the lieutenant didn’t have a tail but legs were actually easier. He liked the way legs wound round him, like sea kelp. And he’d found the perfect place to settle himself inside his lover.

The thrusts pushed the couple around in the water, sometimes going in circles, sometimes in 8 shapes, sometimes just in a straight line. Luca had one hand on Alex’s hip, the other on his cock, holding onto it like a rudder. His strong tail flicked faster and faster as his thrusts became more urgent and he gripped and stroked the cock more frantically.

_When I first saw you_  
_I was deep in clear blue water_  
_The sun was shining_  
_Calling me to come and see you_  
_I touched your soft skin_  
_And you jumped in with your eyes closed_  
_And a smile upon your face_

_After the rain comes sun_  
_After the sun comes rain again_

It didn’t take long for the young lieutenant to cum, and the semen spurted out into the water of the bubble, hanging there like white smoke. Alex batted at it, wanting to avoid getting that in his mouth too. 

Luca gave one last great flick of his tail, and came with a groan, which echoed in the water like whale song and made a ripple radiate from the couple.

_This must be underwater love_  
_The way I feel it slipping all over me_  
_This must be underwater love_  
_The way I feel it_

_Oh oh d'água underwater_  
_Oh underwater love_  
_This underwater love_  
_This underwater love_  
_Underwater love_

The lovers separated as far as they could within the bubble. Then the merman swam them up to the top of the pool, breaching the surface still inside their protective bubble. Luckily, no one was in the cave—it was quiet and serene, just right to relax in a haze of post sex bliss.

Luca waved his hand, and the bubble retracted into the water like a shield and disappeared. Alex gulped a big lungful of air, unable to form words. He pushed himself out of the pool and sat on the side, grinning like an idiot at the handsome merman, who pushed his hair out of his face and grinned back.

They heard people stamping up to the cave entrance, so the young lieutenant rolled onto the cave floor and leant against the pool side, as the merman disappeared under the surface. 

Alex frantically pulled his clothes on as a guard peered round the door.

“Your captain is here to see you,” he said.

The lieutenant was much too happy to refuse to see his brother again—Marc had been to visit him every day to try and talk to him. “Let him in, then,” he said.

Marc strode in. “I’ve come to tell you—why is your hair wet?” He frowned at his brother, who was now putting his shoes on.

“Oh! No reason, I just wet it to keep cool.” Alex smiled angelically. He was surprised a halo didn’t appear on his head, he was trying so hard to look innocent.

“Well. Anyway. I’ve come to tell you that I’ve agreed to the Aquaphibians’ demands but told them we can’t operate the Stingray without you, so you have to be released.”

“Oh.” The lieutenant wasn’t sure he wanted to be released. This prison-cave had become more of a love nest for him and Luca, he didn’t want to leave it.

“You got a problem with that?” Marc frowned.

“No—er—no. When am I going to be released?”

“Now, of course.” His brother still looked confused, even a bit suspicious. “Come on. We have work to do.”

Alex stood up, still adjusting his clothes.

“Come on, you’re dawdling.” The captain took his arm to get him to move, and they hurried out of the door, accompanied by the guards.

Alex glanced back at the pool and saw a blond head peeping out of the water. Luca winked, then disappeared under the surface.


	6. Underwater Allies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Stingray crew form an escape plan, and find a new ally. Alex is all dreamy.

Alex woke up the next day back in the cave he shared with the other members of the Stingray crew. He’d had the deepest sleep he could ever remember, filled with dreams of beautiful, colourful oceans echoing with harmonious music. He looked round the cave and the others were sleeping peacefully on the rock shelves which served as beds for human.

He thought back to yesterday. Had he really made love with a merman? He smiled lazily, then frowned. _Think about it, Alex! You had sex in saltwater with no lubrication, you should feel something apart from joy._ He sat up carefully and walked silently around the room, but he felt no pain. _Of course magical love making won’t hurt, will it? It’s magical!_ A giggle bubbled out of him, unable to be repressed.

“What’s wrong with you?” Marc had awoken and sat glaring at him. “I was fast asleep and you had to wake me up.” He rubbed his eyes with his fists and yawned.

“Sorry. I’m just happy.”

Marc rolled his eyes. “You’re insane. We’re prisoners, remember, and we’re being forced to use the Stingray to attack our fellow humans!”

His voice had risen in exasperation and the other two submariners awoke, both saying, “what’s happening?”

The captain explained the argument.

“He’s right,” said Tito to Alex. “We’ve been thinking and thinking how to fight back, but we can’t get the plan right.”

“We thought of sabotaging the Stingray so it wouldn’t work,” said Dani. “Or somehow forcing the Aquaphibians to back down.”

“But their terms are too harsh.” Marc sighed. “They can force us to destroy the human bases and we’ve no solution.”

“How are they going to force us?” asked Alex. “Now you’ve got me back, they haven’t anything to blackmail us with.”

The others looked at him sadly.

“While you were away, things changed,” explained Dani. “The Aquaphibians have operatives on every major coastline in the world. With one command, they will attack innocent children and women on beaches, and we’ll be responsible. We have to do what they want, or at least pretend to.”

“How do you know this is true?” 

Marc pressed a button and a screen on the cave wall switched on. It showed the point of view of an Aquaphibian spy, they could hear his breathing as he looked up from under water at innocent children playing in the sea with their parents. It was like a scene from Jaws, because the swimmers didn’t know the spy was there.

A voiceover interrupted, “they won’t know what is happening. Their deaths will be painful. And it will all be your fault if you don’t follow our commands.”

Alex felt the blood draining from his face and his heart missing a beat. “That is horrible,” he stuttered.

“So, we have to do as they say or we will be the cause of hundreds of innocent deaths.”

There was a sudden whoosh from the pool in the cave, and Alex jumped up to see Luca emerging.

“I can help you,” he called as the young lieutenant ran to him.

“You!” shouted Marc. “You’re in league with them! Why would we believe you?”

Tito pointed his phaser at the merman, who frowned at the strange weapon. Dani shone a light at the sea creature so he could examine him better, but it made Luca wince.

“Don’t point that at him!” ordered Alex. “You’ll blind him.” He took Luca’s hand and stood in front of the poor merman as he turned away from the bright light.

“Why are you so protective of him?” demanded Marc. “He’s on their side, he’s their secret weapon.”

“He is not a weapon! He’s—he’s—” Alex blushed, thinking of his passionate night with Luca and squeezed his hand. The merman squeezed back and they exchanged smiles.

Marc’s eyes widened and he hastily changed the subject. “So—er—anyway. We must find a way to stop the Aquaphibians, we have to keep it secret from all of them. Including this merman!”

“You can’t keep it secret from me,” said Luca. “I can hear everything underwater, my ears are many times more sensitive than humans’ ears. And Aquaphibians’ ears too.”

The Stingray crew stared at him.

“So I can help you,” he said. “You just have to think of a plan.”

Alex snorted at his lover’s cheekiness.

“Why would you help us? You’re in league with the Aquaphibians,” accused Marc.

Before the merman could reply, the lieutenant did. “He is not! They put a collar on him. Look.” So as not to frighten him, Alex slowly reached towards his neck and hooked his finger under the collar to show the others.

“What’s that for?” asked Dani.

“If I swim too far away, the collar grows hot and hurts my neck.” The merman hung his head, embarrassed at being caught when he was so young. He should have fought back, somehow.

“That is torture. That’s against the Geneva convention,” exclaimed Marc. “Especially as you are a different species to them.”

Luca shrugged. “There is nothing I can do, I am alone here with them. And besides, I hate them for other reasons. They—they—the king, he likes to take me to his room and—”

Alex put his arms round his lover, too shocked to speak, and Luca rested his head on his shoulder.

The other three submariners stood in silence, staring with wide, horrified eyes at the beautiful merman, as the implications of what the Aquaphibians could do to him filtered through their brains.

“Does the king—” began Marc.

“Stop interrogating him!” snapped Alex, glaring at his brother. He had a churning feeling in his stomach about what Luca had been about to say. _Surely the king doesn’t—wouldn’t—torture him? Rape him? I don’t want to think about it. I must save him._ He put his arm round the trembling merman, his heart filled with revenge. He would get hold of the king and—and—he didn’t know what he’d do, he’d just get revenge.

“You will be part of our escape plan,” said Marc, and the others nodded. With relief, Alex recognised the _protective older brother_ expression, as Marc looked at Luca. Alex sighed. Everything would be alright if his brother looked like that.

“Could we put him in the tank to come with us?” exclaimed Alex, carried away with his brilliant idea.

“A—tank?” asked Luca. “What is a tank?”

“It’s like a big box of water,” explained his lover, and the merman raised his eyebrows.

“We keep sea creatures in it, if we need to,” said Dani. “If they need help, or are injured, or we’re trying to save them from danger. It has a rock outcrop in it, for creatures who live in sea and land. Would you agree to travelling in that when the Stingray escapes?”

“Yes, I...think I could travel in a tank.”

“We can protect you better like that,” said the captain, “when we get control of the Stingray, you can go in the tank immediately.” He turned to the other submariners. “So, about this plan? Shall we—”

“I have an idea, captain!” interrupted Tito. “If the merman helps us, we can blow up this base!”

“His name is Luca,” said Alex proudly.

“Nice to meet you, Luca,” said Dani, and the others made welcoming noises.

Luca inclined his head regally and Alex wondered if he was a merman prince. had the Stingray crew stumbled on a war between merfolk and Aquaphibians? Was Luca a prisoner of war? But whoever he was, Alex would save him from his terrible life. The lieutenant ground his teeth murderously as he thought about the king but smiled when the blue eyed merman caught his eye.

“So when you two have stopped gawping at each other, can we get on?” said Marc gently.

“If Luca helps us, we can put a huge bomb under the whole island,” said Tito. “We can get into the Stingray and escape, then blow it up when we’re far away.”

“We’ll have to make them agree to call back their spies before we go, though,” said Dani cautiously. “We can’t risk the innocent lives.”

“Yes!” said Marc. “We’ll do a deal with the king. He’s so conceited—if I flatter him, he’ll do anything I say.” He’d spent as much time as possible wheedling his way into the king’s affections, so he could find out his secrets. And the king was delighted that a high-ranking military human thought he was important.

Luca hissed with laughter, and said, “you are right, Captain. He is conceited. And evil.” Alex stroked his arm.

“But Marc. If Luca comes with us, his collar will hurt him and he’ll be left behind.”

The captain bit his lip. “Let me have a look at that collar.” He stepped forward but his brother fended him off with his outstretched arm.

“Slowly! Don’t frighten him.”

So Marc tiptoed to the pool and carefully put his hand out to examine the collar. “Hm,” he said. “We need to destroy the device controlling this thing. Do you know what controls it?” he asked Luca, who shrugged.

“I think it must be the king. He is power crazy and controls everything.”

“Right. So, if I keep working on him, he might tell me how the collar is controlled and then I can destroy it. I expect its some kind of radio controlled box sending out signals, I need to—”

“But can you get the collar off without killing me?” Luca looked pleadingly at the captain, who stood up straighter.

“I’m sure we can. Commander Rabat is an expert technician. We’ll make sure you are saved.”

The merman beamed at him, looking so beautiful that Marc had to step back in awe, and Alex tightened his grip on his lover.

Meanwhile, the other two submariners were talking.

“How will you construct this bomb?” asked Dani of Tito.

The commander puffed out his chest. “I have ample supplies on the Stingray. I can make excuses to go back there and get all I need, bit by bit.”

“We need a detailed plan,” said Captain Marc. “We need to save Luca and blow up this island. There are four possibilities. The top one being—we achieve both objectives. The other three don’t bear thinking about. So lets get our heads together and work out the best way to achieve them.”

So everyone huddled round the cave-pool to allow Luca to join in the discussion. Alex helped him sit up on the side of the pool so he didn’t have to tread water—he just swished his mighty silver tail in the water occasionally to keep it wet. It was hard for the lieutenant to concentrate on the conversation with such a striking creature sitting there radiating beauty and otherworldly magic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully this is a nice distraction on a Monday morning, after all the continuing drama of the races.


	7. Underwater Flattery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew’s plan starts to come together…

So the Stingray crew set out on their various missions. Obviously they weren’t daring, bold missions like they were used to, but they were vital.

Captain Marc turned on the charm and tried to make the vain Aquaphibian king into a friend so he could get the information he wanted, and it didn’t take as long as he anticipated. He visited him in his living quarters once a week, and they ate premium food and drank the finest ocean wine. To Marc’s surprise, the Aquaphibian fare was very tasty.

“You dine so well here,” he complimented the monarch after a week or so. “It makes me feel like my crew and I should live here.”

To his surprise, the green creature burst out laughing. “It is only the elite group who live so well. The others must work to keep the island functioning.”

“Oh yes?” The submariner had a bad feeling about this.

“Some of my people spend the day fishing for our food. Some work to produce wines of various quality. Some sew and make our costumes—the best for myself.” He gestured to his luxurious silver and gold robes. “They all do it for the love of me of course, we don’t use money here.”

“They don’t get paid? How do they live?”

“They get rations. It keeps them fit and healthy. Don’t worry! If you lived here, you would be part of the elite.”

“So my crew would be workers while I live in comfort?” Marc felt ill to think of his dear comrades being forced into slavery, but he had to humour the king and find out his secrets.

“Yes indeed. They have great skills which could be used, and they are quite attractive for humans. They could gain special privileges by attending to my—er—needs.”

The captain felt even more ill, after hearing what Luca the merman had started to tell him about being taken to the king’s room. He couldn’t continue this conversation and he couldn’t let his crew fall into the clutches of this tyrant.

He changed to a safer subject. “So are there any other Aquaphibian islands around here, or is yours the only one?” 

“It is just us. I have full confidence that myself and my devoted subjects, who are ever increasing, can overcome the humans.” The king puffed up with pride. “They practice fighting constantly, especially against the weakest individuals. Here on the island it is survival of the fittest.”

_You’re delusional,_ thought Marc. _And where is this large population? Crammed into tiny homes? Because this island isn’t very big._

But he had to gain the king’s confidence, so he soldiered on.

“I can see a lot of similarities between us,” he said. “I’m a brave and resourceful captain who carries out projects skilfully and with flair, and I can see that you are too.”

The king again inflated with pride. “Of course! We are both leaders of our groups and strive to set a good example to them. I am more senior to you of course, because I lead the Aquaphibians and you only lead a crew, but I understand what you mean.” He spooned some small fish from his plate into his mouth, most of it missing and going on the floor.

_Don’t go too far up your own backside, will you?_ thought Marc. But he said, “how do you cope with being stranded on this small island while humans enjoy the rest of the planet? Can you truly see yourself expanding outwards?”

“For too long have humans ruled this planet!” he exclaimed. “It is time for us to rise!”

“Well, I can see your point. Really I can see the attraction of living in the sea like this, I’ve always liked exploring the water.” Marc tried to think how to persuade his host that he was on his side.

“We want to submerge the land,” boasted the monarch. “You humans will be corralled onto the highest peaks and defeated!”

“Well, humans are aggressive beings. Maybe they need restraining.”

“Indeed!” thundered the king, thumping the rock where his food lay on a plate. “We Aquaphibians are tired of being forced into the corners of the planet, hiding like eels and snails.”

The Captain forced a smile onto his face, while thinking how delusional this creature was. Humans hadn’t even heard of the Aquaphibians, they weren’t omnipotent as the king imagined. Trying not to sneer, he continued, “Well…I hope you’ll remember the humans who helped you achieve your goal.” He felt sick at grovelling like this, but it was necessary.

“Hm…yes…you should get some reward.” The Aquaphibian’s eyes gleamed thoughtfully.

“But anyway, sire, I must ask about the practicalities. I really need to get onto the Stingray and check her over for damage, run some tests and recalibrate all the systems. I can’t just take her out untested after such a time.”

“Hm…I’m sure my engineers can make your craft as seaworthy as you could want.”

“I’m sure, but they have no experience with it. I don’t mean to be rude but it’s true, your majesty.”

“One crew member can go onto your vehicle. Choose one and no more, then.”

The captain’s heart leapt at this, but he kept a calm exterior. “I think Commander Rabat should be the one. He is the best engineer in the fleet.”

“And my men will accompany him! I must keep up my security measures.”

_Damn!_ thought Marc, but he said, “of course.” _I’ll just have to find a way to outsmart the Aquaphibians. Time for another meeting with my comrades…_

***

Every night before the captain told the rest of his crew about what the king had said, they all helped to sweep the room for any bugging equipment or secret cameras recording their activities.

Even Luca popped up to assist them—he’d heard them talking and so used his far more sensitive ears to detect any noises from machinery or organic devices lurking in the bedroom. Every time, he pronounced it to be empty of such things.

Marc felt quite ill after his most recent conversation with the king and he needed to tell his brothers in arms about the information he’d found out. This also acted like a confession, because the Commanders and the Lieutenant made similar noises and faces of horror at things the Aquaphibian had said.

“So basically, we need to drug them or imprison them somehow, while we do what we need to,” he finished, hoping his colleagues’ brains were running as fast as his. He wanted to put an end to this king and his slimy relatives.

There was a pause while the submariners digested all the details they’d heard.

“I can prepare a drug which would affect them and not us,” piped up Commander Pedrosa. “Their nervous systems are very different to ours and the guards would fall unconscious while Tito wouldn’t.”

“What supplies would you need?” asked the captain.

“Just my medical kit, I think.” The little Commander set his jaw defiantly.

“And I can help you. Maybe Luca knows what drug would affect them,” said Lieutenant Marquez, dreamily gazing at the merman, who smiled back.

The other three groaned at their sentimentality but only Alex’s brother commented. “As long as you remain professional at all times, you two. Don’t jeopardise our mission by forgetting to use your brains.”

Alex blushed and giggled whereas Luca just smiled enigmatically.

“Yes,” said Commander Rabat, too caught up in his own plans to care about teasing the couple. “I will go onto the Stingray with the guards—surely they’ll only send two at most? And how would I drug them? With a gas?”

Pedrosa nodded. “I can give you a pot of the drug in liquid form, you open it and when it meets the air, it will turn into a gas and flood the area. Be careful, because it will affect you eventually, but you’ll have two hours more time than they will.”

“Excellent!” said Captain Marc. “You’re the expert on marine biology here and I’m glad you came along.”

Pedrosa beamed with pride.

Meanwhile, the lieutenant made careful notes of what was happening to the Stingray crew and what their objectives were, so he could send the information back to the F.I.M. command centre. He would use a very high level code so no Aquaphibian could break it, and within the code was a clear warning about the spies lurking on every beach. He used information Marc had previously gleaned from the king to tell Admiral Suppo exactly how to deal with the spies, and sent the message via sonic beam, which couldn’t be intercepted.

***

As well as devising a drug for the Aquaphibian guards, Commander Pedrosa set about discovering where the control for the merman’s restraining collar was located. He’d noted down the information Captain Marc gave his crew every night about suspicious equipment he’d noticed in the King’s living quarters. There were a number of control boxes in there, any of which could be the one.

During the days the captain was chatting up the king, Pedrosa wondered how he could access the control box. But then a brainwave hit him, so that night he reported back to the crew.

“Captain! If I make this drug for Tito to take onto the Stingray, I think I can make enough of it so we can filter it through the air conditioning of the whole Aquaphibian living area!” He could hardly get his words out with excitement. “Then we’d have a few hours to do all we wanted, then they’d go back to normal and not realise anything had happened!”

“Yes!” Marc tried not to shout too loudly with eagerness in case their enemies overheard from the other rooms of the complex.

“Alex and I can find the control for Luca’s collar and shut it down. Tito can gather the equipment for the bomb. You can be the one co-ordinating us all.”

“Aye aye, Commander,” laughed the captain ironically as his subordinate officer was telling him what to do. “We’ll do it as soon as possible, how about in three days’ time?” The captain had been keeping careful note how many days had passed since their capture and knew exactly what the date was.

***

Meanwhile Luca investigated and practiced how he could quickly release the Stingray from its moorings. He knew when the Aquaphibian guards took their breaks and made sure he was only near the submarine when they were absent. They were so lazy and stupid that he could easily distract them if he wanted to, by making suspicious noises away from the submarine, so they went to investigate. Or by making frightening noises near the craft, so they ran away. The guards were so complacent that their island was too far away to be reached by enemies, that they didn’t take their duties too seriously.

This made the beautiful merman laugh many times and he enjoyed taunting them and playing games with them that only he could win, because he was the one who knew what was going on and they were bumbling about helplessly.

When he wasn’t doing this, he spent time with his human boyfriend, taking him on fantastic trips under the ocean. He did this by raising a bubble around Alex and towing him through the water to see amazing blue corals, waving lilac anemones, mysterious dark caves, inquisitive orange lobsters.

He told the lieutenant about his torment of the guards, via telepathy of course, and Alex spent many of their voyages in fits of laughter.

Once though, a dark shadow loomed over the bubble, and the young submariner looked up in fear. It was a shark! But the merman had spotted the fierce creature much earlier, and clapped his hands in the water, making mysterious shapes, which sent frantic ripples through the ocean. Luca made an eerie sound—half screech, half roar—and the large fish zoomed away in terror.

“You saved me from a shark!” said Alex, smiling in awe at the beautiful merman.

“Of course. But we better go in case he comes back with his friends.” Luca towed him safely back to the Stingray crew’s bedroom.

Another time, the merman took him to see where he slept each night, in a cave under the Aquaphibian island. As they approached, the lieutenant shone his torch into the depths, unable to see as well as Luca. He saw a shining, pearlized curly shell lodged securely onto a rock ledge. It was very big, the size of a big satellite dish, and it shimmered in the light of phosphorous plants which lived on the rocky walls of the cave, which wasn’t as dark as Alex had imagined.

“I sleep in that,” said Luca, swimming up to the shell. “It keeps me safe and stops me floating away in the currents while I’m asleep.” He demonstrated, curling up inside it like a little seahorse or elf. His lovely silver tail curled upwards, making his whole body into a C shape and he shut his eyes, looking so sweet that Alex’s heart fluttered.

The lieutenant had a brainwave. “Would you like to take this shell—I mean, your bed—into the tank on the Stingray? Is it possible to get it off that shelf?”

The merman paused so long that Alex thought he’d said the wrong thing, then realised his boyfriend was gazing at him with tears in his eyes.

“I—I’d love to! I can unhook it, and tow it to your craft. Can we get it onboard?” 

“We can take it through the airlock, I guess. I’ll tell my brother that is what we’re doing.”

Grinning broadly, Luca led the bubble back to the Aquaphibians’ island and up the long dark tunnel into the crew’s sleeping quarters, which were luckily empty.

They said a fond goodbye at the top of the cave-pool, then the mysterious ocean creature flipped over and all that was left was a flick of his silver tail.

Alex always wondered if he’d been dreaming every time he met up with Luca—was he really in the presence of a merman, or was he imagining it? But his heart felt warm and happy, so he knew that it was real.


	8. Underwater Prelude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Stingray crew begin to fight back! But things start to get out of control...

The first part of the Stingray crew’s plan was to test the drug on the Aquaphibians. So Commander Rabat willingly went off to the craft accompanied by two guards. He carried a backpack, telling them that it was full of tools to adjust the submarine’s systems, whereas in reality it was just full of spare clothes from his crewmates.

He set about checking the basic systems while the Aquaphibian guards peered out of the portholes, looked at the control panels and generally nosed about the unfamiliar human vehicle. They laughed and jeered at most of the equipment and Tito had to suppress his anger. He loved the Stingray, it was the most modern submarine in the fleet—what did these rude creatures know about technology?

Tito had to tell them a few times sharply, “don’t touch that!” and they tried to argue with him, but he pointed out that the king wanted the Stingray to help with his plan, therefore he would not be happy if they damaged it. A few warnings like that and the guards got the message and stopped touching anything.

When they weren’t looking, the commander opened the pot of liquid drug that Dani had given him and put it quietly on the table. He moved away, just in case it affected him, and made a great show of tapping on some dials and gauges. He smelt an unfamiliar cinnamon type scent, and looked round to see both guards unconscious, slumped against the wall.

Grinning broadly at how quickly the drug had worked, Tito whirled around the Stingray, grabbing all the items he needed to make many bombs. He emptied his backpack, stuffed the spare clothes into a locker and refilled the bag with the bomb ingredients. 

He walked away from the sleeping Aquaphibians into another area of the submarine and switched on his communicator.

“Rabat to crew, over.”

“Marquez here,” replied a crackly voice. “Did the mission succeed? Over.”

“Very well, Captain. Just waiting for the targets to revive. Over.”

“Well done commander. Over and out.”

Then he had to wait for the Aquaphibians to wake up again. He became a bit anxious because they didn’t stir for quite a while, then with no warning, they began yawning and stretching.

“I’ve finished my tests,” Tito said innocently. “We can leave now.”

Still groggy, the guards obediently followed him out of the Stingray and back to the palace complex. The commander was internally shouting for joy, but of course he just had to treat going to the submarine with the guards as nothing special. He even said goodbye to his companions when he went back to his quarters and they went back to theirs, still looking rather groggy.

“So it turned out okay?” Commander Pedrosa said after the cave door had shut. He looked anxious. “The drug worked, they didn’t suspect a thing and they didn’t attack you?”

“Yes to all of those.” The tall blond smiled down at the short brunet. “Your drug was perfect.”

“That’s great!” said Captain Marc. “Now we need to prepare enough of it to put through the vents of this rotten place and continue our plan.”

***

Dani, with the help of Alex, mixed large quantities of the drug—this time in a more solid form. The plan was to pack it into every vent they could find, then the air conditioning system would suck it in and distribute it all over the palace.

So the commander, lieutenant and captain casually strode around the complex—the Aquaphibians didn’t take any notice of the soft, pink humans anymore, as they were used to them—sticking packs of the drug into every vent and taking note of what happened to the creatures around them.

After a while, the submariners realised everything had gone silent. There were video cameras everywhere, used by the king and guards to spy on their subjects, and every view of the Aquaphibian island showed the creatures lying asleep.

“Right! All systems go!” instructed Marc. He and Dani hurried into the king’s quarters to look for the control system for Luca’s collar.

***

Alex hurried back to the crew’s room where Tito was making bombs. When he rushed in, Luca was sitting at the top of the cave pool resting his arms on the side of it, watching the commander’s activities.

Tito had decided to make a series of smaller bombs that the merman could place all round the island, because little ones would be easier for him to carry, rather than towing one big bomb, which would be very difficult and obvious. The combined force of so many small, powerful bombs exploding at once would have the same effect as one big one.

“They’re all asleep,” said the lieutenant excitedly.

“I know,” said Luca. “It’s so lovely and quiet without their constant noise.” Of course his super sensitive merman ears had noticed the change much more quickly than the humans had.

“Let’s go to the Stingray and you can bring your bed-shell and we can put it in the tank.”

“What about my collar?” Luca pulled at the offending device on his neck.

“My brother said it will fall off once they disable it.”

“I understand.” He turned over and dived down the pool, so Alex hurried to the Stingray and waited by the airlock.

After a little while, the merman arrived towing the shining, iridescent shell and swam into the water filled airlock with it.

“I’ll just drain the water out,” said Alex through the intercom system.

When the water was gone, he strode into the airlock and dragged the big shell through the door into the main part of the submarine. The others could help him move it to the tank later. He went back to see Luca flopping on the floor of the airlock, his tail flapping like a peacock’s or an ornamental fan.

“I’m helpless,” he said, fluttering his eyelashes and propping his head up on his elbow.

Alex stared with his mouth open for a few moments at the gorgeous silver tailed creature, then got his limbs to work and went to lie next to him, gazing into his eyes. They kissed for a while, and held each other, then Luca started gasping for breath, so Alex jumped up.

“I’ll refill the airlock and you can go out to sea. Meet me in my cave,” he said quickly, and ran to the door.

The airlock filled with water, and Luca rose up slowly, putting his face in the water and breathing. He flipped over, his powerful tail thrashing, and swum strongly out to sea, his helplessness gone.

The lieutenant scurried back to his cave to see Tito still working on the bombs. Luca popped up in the pool a few minutes later and smiled at him.

***

In the king’s rooms, Dani and Marc checked every control box, and finally found one marked with a merman figure, so they assumed it was the one. There was a radio wave dial on the front with a needle flickering up and down. It was in the green sector now but the red sector was next to it, threatening pain for their aquatic friend.

“How are you going to do this?” asked the captain, while he kept an eye on the slumbering forms of the king and his lackeys, all lying around the sumptuously furnished room.

“There are a few options. One, simply to switch off the whole thing, but that could easily just be turned on again. Two, to smash up the device, but we don’t know if that would harm Luca. Three, to mute the radio frequency so it stops affecting the collar. The last option is the best, obviously.”

“Would it be better if Luca was here, then we could see the effect on him?” Marc didn’t like that idea but it would be the quickest way to check how the collar behaved.

“Ideally, yes, but he’s helping Tito with the bombs and there isn’t time.” The little commander set about attaching a device to the control box which would mute the radio frequency, while the captain kept an eye on the Aquaphibians.

“I’m also going to wrap the whole thing in foil,” continued Pedrosa.

“Why’s that? My electrical studies at the academy were a long time ago.”

“It’s just a low tech way of putting a second level of protection on the control box.” The two submariners smiled at each other, then the commander returned to his work.

***

Back at the crew’s quarters, Luca suddenly gasped.

“What is it?” Alex ran to his side.

“My collar. It made a noise—something happened to it. I don’t understand.” His crystal blue eyes looked scared and Alex hugged him.

The communicator crackled next to Tito and he grabbed it.

“Has the merman’s collar come off?” asked Captain Marc, too anxious to be formal.

“No. Should it?”

“Damn. Yes, we’ve disabled the control box. We can’t risk him wearing it any longer. You’ll have to cut it off.”

“Did you hear that?” asked Tito. He grabbed some bolt cutters and advanced on the merman, who clutched at his boyfriend.

“Give them to me, I’ll do it,” snapped Alex. “Now stay calm, my love, this will only take a moment.” 

Luca closed his eyes and held onto the side of the pool. The lieutenant struggled with the collar—the bolt cutters were just not strong enough. What on earth was the collar made of? Some underwater metal which resisted human tools?

“Tito, it’s not coming off,” he gasped.

“Let me do it. Relax, Luca,” he soothed the merman, then tried to cut the collar off.

But the stronger commander was still unable to break the stubborn material. Alex felt frightened tears welling in his eyes and a lump in his throat. What if they couldn’t get the collar off? Would Luca have to stay there forever?

***

As Dani finished covering the control box with the low tech foil, Marc heard a strange noise. He looked round to see the Aquaphibian king stirring in his sleep, as were the other creatures. His heart began to pound.

“They’re waking up,” he whispered to the commander. “We have to go.”

Dani threw a cloth over the control box as a last hope of disguising the fact it was damaged, and the duo slipped silently out of the king’s rooms, noticing the Aquaphibians stirring everywhere they went.

“Sorry captain, the solid drug mustn’t have worked as well as the liquid one,” gasped Pedrosa as they galloped along back to their quarters.

They burst in to find Tito trying to cut Luca’s collar off. The poor merman’s eyes were open now, he looked terrified, no matter how much Alex soothed him.

“Right. The Aquaphibians are waking up,” said Marc. “Everyone go to the Stingray. We’ve disabled the collar but it looks like we’ll have to use the laser to get it off Luca. We can’t risk the box being reactivated.”

“You others go! I’m not leaving him!” snapped Alex. “I’ll hold his hands and you get the laser.”

There was no time to argue. Marc took the laser cutter from Tito’s bag and also the cutting guard. Alex held Luca’s hands and whispered soothing words to him.

The captain moved as slowly as he could towards the merman’s neck, putting the metal guard against his skin and angling the laser away from him.

“Be brave, you can do it,” murmured Alex to his boyfriend, who shut his eyes and braced against the pool wall. “My brother is the best laser cutter in the business.”

Marc turned the laser to its lowest setting and began slicing the thin metal. Slowly but surely, it began to heat up and crack.

***

Tito and Dani raced to the Stingray and rushed inside. On the way they looked at the video screens to see Aquaphibians waking up in every area of the complex.

“We now have to wait for the others, and hope that Luca can unfasten the Stingray,” said Dani nervously.

“It’ll be alright,” said Tito, patting his arm. 

Both submariners hurried to the control panels, flipping switches, turning dials and getting the submarine ready for when it could escape.

***

Finally the collar broke. Marc grabbed it even though it was hot and dropped it down the cave pool, where it sank without a trace. Alex and Luca embraced.

“Thank you,” said the merman to the captain.

“You’re welcome, but we need your help now. As we discussed, can you take these bombs and plant them all under the island in different places? We thought we’d have more time but we don’t. I’m sure you can do it.”

“Of course.” Luca and Alex gave each other a quick kiss, then the merman took off the net he’d brought tied around his waist, and put the bombs in it.

“Also, did you remember that you have to unfasten the Stingray when you’ve planted the bombs? Then we can take you on board and escape.”

“I remember.”

“I know it’s a lot to ask,” blurted Alex. “But we’ll be forever grateful and you’ll escape your life of slavery and we can live happily ever after.” He blushed as red as a tomato.

“Thank you. But…how grateful will you be?” The merman winked and the lieutenant giggled as they stared besottedly at each other.

Marc coughed loudly. “Come on you two, there is no time to waste!”

The silver tail flicked at the top of the pool, the captain grabbed his brother by the wrist and they took one last look around their quarters/ prison, which had been their home for so long, then ran out of the door towards their escape craft.

Luca swam off, knowing he had to plant these bombs quickly and get back to unfasten the Stingray, or he’d be stranded forever with the Aquaphibians.


	9. Underwater Crisis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Stingray crew suffer more setbacks in their plan!

Luca planned to plant a bomb in each major cave pool—the first would be the banqueting hall where he used to dance to amuse the king and his friends. He hated that place. He silently placed a bomb in one of the pools there first, because he could hear no one was in there. The common folk were all busy milling around, wondering why they had been asleep, and the officials were testing the video surveillance equipment, checking the security arrangements etc.

The next bomb would be placed under the military wing where the cruel, hated soldiers who disciplined everyone, lived. That area was more or less empty too, because the soldiers were outside interrogating everyone about what had happened.

The island was big and took a lot of swimming up and down to reach the places Luca wanted to put the bombs, but the industrious merman didn’t give up. He covered the eastern side of the island with three more bombs under the places where the Aquaphibians gathered most—the entertainment arena where the lower classes were forced to fight each other to the death, in order to entertain the king and his entourage; the exercise area, where the Aquaphibians were drilled in military exercises twice a day; the canteen, where the commoners ate together. They were fed a plain diet with a low nutritional value to keep them hungry and scared.

The western side of the island was more luxurious, apart from yet another military wing which contained the king’s personal guards and attendants. So Luca put a bomb under that wing too, then one at the top of a pool in the large business district, where the Aquaphibians made their money from betting on everything they could think of, such as fights between their colleagues, selling things at exorbitant prices, 

There was also the science department, where Luca knew marine animals captured by the Aquaphibians were taken for scientists to experiment on. He heard the screams of the poor creatures too many times so generally kept away from that area. But this bomb would put them out of their misery, so he gritted his teeth and planted one right near the top of a pool in the laboratory.

Then as he swam by a pool, he heard a very worrying comment—a highly ranked soldier saying, “this is the work of those humans in their submarine. We must find them and put them in jail.”

Luca couldn’t bear the thought of Alex and his friends being caught—god knows what the Aquaphibians would do to them. He had two bombs left and knew exactly where they would go—the king’s rooms and the port where all the sea craft were stationed. But he must go and free the Stingray now before it was too late. He was sure he had time to do so…

***

The crew had all safely reached the Stingray, but they knew they were sitting ducks if the Aquaphibians realised what had happened.

Alex kept sending his thoughts to Luca, hoping for a reply, but none came. What if he’d been caught? What if a shark had killed him? What if what if what if…

“I hope Luca hasn’t just swum off and forgotten us,” said Tito. “I put a lot of work into those bombs and I don’t want them wasted.”

“Of course he hasn’t!” snarled the lieutenant, leaping towards him. “He’s honourable.”

The tall commander shrugged. “I hope so, for all our sakes.”

“He’s already put himself in danger for us! You’re just an ungrateful—” Alex shouted in his face so the blond jumped up in anger.

“Men!” shouted Captain Marc. “Stand to attention. This is no time for a mutiny!”

“Aye aye sir,” chorused the commander and the lieutenant, stepping away from each other and saluting.

“I will not have this behaviour. Control yourselves and work together respectfully and productively.”

“Aye aye sir,” they repeated. 

Suddenly there was a clank, and the Stingray jolted.

“Our docking clamps are free and the Aquaphibian fastenings are unattached,” reported Commander Pedrosa.

Alex ran to the porthole, shouting, “Luca! Are you there?” He received the answer in his mind:

“You’re free but I have the final bombs to plant. Give me thirty of your human minutes, then leave and I’ll find you in the ocean.”

“Get away from our engines as fast as you can,” replied Alex. “We’ll be starting them within a few minutes.”

“I will. Goodbye!”

The lieutenant repeated the conversation to the others and ran to his station.

“Engines primed for start. Running the test now,” said Tito. The whirring noise of the submarine’s engines testing themselves began, then stopped.

“Engines functioning normally,” said Dani.

“Proceed at maximum knots as soon as possible,” ordered the captain, and the Stingray manoeuvred out of the port and set out into the ocean, speeding up within a few metres of the Aquaphibian island.

“There were guards running down the gangway, they were blown into the water by our engines,” observed Alex.

The crew chortled with relief.

“Hopefully that’s the last we see of them,” said Captain Marc.

“When should I detonate the bombs?” asked Tito.

The captain looked at the chronometer. “Luca said to give him thirty minutes…that was five minutes ago. So in twenty five minutes please, Commander.”

“Aye aye sir.” Tito set a timer for that interval and continued inspecting the submarine’s dials and gauges.

Dani, meanwhile, was transmitting urgent messages to the F.I.M. command centre, to warn them of the imminent destruction of the Aquaphibians and that the Stingray was coming back. He was relieved to receive an official reply which said that because of Lieutenant Marquez’s reports, all Aquaphibian spies lurking by the beaches had been flushed out, due to the drug recipe Commander Pedrosa had sent. F.I.M. operatives had put the drug in the sea around all beaches, the spies had become unconscious and floated to the surface, then had been captured and imprisoned.

***

Luca swam off to plant the last two bombs. He saved the king’s bomb til last as he hated him the most, so he fixed the ninth bomb in the water on the side of the port. But someone shouted, “hey! What’s that? Is it our merman?” as he moved away from the harbour side.

Cursing to himself, he turned to swim away but suddenly felt the water agitating with the shock of gunfire all around him. He dived as deeply as he could, hoping a bullet wouldn’t hit him or the bomb and detonate it. It was tiring swimming so low but he was determined to get to where the king’s suite of rooms lay. Powering through the water, he felt tired but he mustn’t stop to rest—the lives of Alex and his friends depended on him.

The king’s pool loomed above him so he swam quietly up the tunnel to hear the king saying, “they said they saw my merman at the port, where has he gone? He’s usually hanging around me because he adores me so much.”

 _No I do NOT!_ thought Luca angrily. He wanted to say it aloud to the king but he was so close to ending him and all his captors, he couldn’t risk discovery. So he gritted his teeth and stuck the bomb to the side of the pool tunnel.

“What was that noise?” asked the king, and footsteps came towards the top of the cave pool.

***

The Stingray held station at a safe distance from the Aquaphibian island, and now the twenty five minutes were nearly up. Alex had bitten his nails down beneath his fingertips, and the captain had ignored this unmilitary behaviour as this was a unique situation. Normally submariners weren’t allowed to bite their fingernails but Marc gave his little brother an amnesty today.

“It’s time, sir,” said Tito.

“Any messages from Luca?” Marc asked Alex, who shook his head sadly, a tear sliding down his face. “I’m sorry but we can’t wait any longer. The fate of the human race is at stake. Detonate.”

The commander pressed the button as Dani activated the rear viewscreen and put it on display. An explosion in the distance lit up the sky and ocean, and the wake of it, even though it was many miles away, noticeably shook the Stingray.

“Anything from Luca?” Marc asked again.

Alex listened and listened but he heard nothing. No voice or message. At least he hadn’t heard screams of pain, so surely Luca had escaped in time? The lieutenant gave a big sigh, and was surprised to find his brother hugging him, while the two commanders left their seats to pat his arms.

***

While the Stingray crew waited for the merman to reappear, Alex kept himself busy clearing the tank ready for Luca to live in. He and Tito, their arguments forgotten, dragged the bed-shell up into the tank and fixed it on the rock under water, so Luca could sleep and breathe comfortably in it.

“He’ll be alright, don’t worry. He’s tough,” said the commander, patting his crewmate on the shoulder as they bobbed in the tank of water getting the shell’s position just right.

Alex was more worried that the shell was looking dull and lifeless, not the shiny thing it once was. Did this mean that it was missing it’s owner? Or did it mean…the owner was dead? He took a shaky breath and continued working.

“Of course we need to collect fish for him,” he said to take his mind off worrying. “He eats fish, of course, and nice seaweed. How can we collect that?”

“Er…we can use the nets. You know that Stingray has fishing equipment so we can live independently for many months if necessary.”

“Oh yes.” Alex couldn’t think of anything but his beloved merman. “Set that up then, will you? I want to make the tank nice for him.”

“Aye aye sir.” Tito smiled at him. He didn’t need to say aye aye but he wanted to show Alex he cared.

The lieutenant gave him a weak smile. He really just wanted to be alone with his thoughts, and Tito seemed to understand, because he left immediately.

***

Hours passed with still no sign of the silver tailed merman but Alex refused to give up hope. He stared out of the porthole at the fish swimming by and wondered which ones Luca liked to eat best.

He heard a noise and turned—there was no one nearby in the tank room. The sound was like a whale song and it was coming closer. Then he realised it was in his mind and called out, “Luca is that you?”

The answer came: “Yes, I’ll be at the airlock. Help me.”

Alex leapt into action. He ran to the control room and began opening the airlock.

“What are you doing?” demanded the captain, running over.

“He’s coming! He needs our help!”

Everyone simultaneously realised who he meant and ran down to the airlock to see an exhausted merman swimming slowly into the chamber. He lay on the floor, panting.

“Drain it slowly!” shouted Alex. “Don’t shock him.”

Tito, the most mechanically minded crew member, set the drain function to level 1 and the water slowly emptied away, leaving Luca collapsed in a few centimetres of water.

“We need to get him in the tank ASAP!” shouted the lieutenant. “I’ll take his head, you lot take his tail.”

The submariners rushed into the airlock, sloshing through the water, and lifted up the sagging merman.

“Quickly,” urged his boyfriend. The submariners carried him as fast as they could to the tank where they kept sea creatures. It was sparkling now due to the hours Alex had spent cleaning and polishing it, and it had bowls of fish attached to the glass underwater for refreshment.

The crew lowered the merman onto the rock in the tank, which was half in and half out of the water. Alex climbed in too, and splashed water on Luca until he opened his eyes and smiled weakly.

“I couldn’t find you,” he whispered. “You went so far away.”

“I’m here now.” Alex sat on the rock and shuffled closer til the merman was resting his head and shoulders in his lap. “Would you like some food?” He fed Luca with a small fish and he gulped it down gratefully.

“Back to work, men,” ordered Captain Marc, wishing to give the couple some time alone. “Call us if you need us,” he told his brother, who nodded.

“I put your bed-shell beneath the surface,” said Alex as he stroked his boyfriend’s hair. “It’s all ready for you.”

“I’d love to sleep now,” said the merman. “Help me get to my bed.”

Alex helped him off the rock, held his breath and swam with him to the shell. As he approached the shell, it suddenly gleamed silver and gold again. It glistened in the water and the submariner realised it had been waiting for its owner. Luca curled up in it, in the cute C shape, and closed his eyes. Alex had to breathe again so he bobbed up above the surface and climbed out of the tank. He looked through the side of the tank to see his boyfriend sleeping sweetly in his bed shell, then slumped with relief onto the floor. He’d been so frightened, but now he could relax.


	10. Underwater Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex helps Luca search for his mer-family.

The F.I.M. command centre told the Stingray crew that they had it all under control back at their base, so they could return slowly without rushing. They were very proud of the submariners’ brave actions and so if they wanted to take a mini holiday before debriefing, that was fine.

Over the next few days, Alex spent all his time with Luca, hearing about how he planted the bombs and his narrow escape from the king when he nearly saw him, as well avoiding the shots fired by the soldiers at the port. The lieutenant sat on the rock, while the merman flipped in and out of the water, depending on his breathing needs. They mostly lay in each other’s arms though—Alex eating sandwiches and Luca eating fish. It was such a relief to be together again, away from the cruel Aquaphibians, they couldn’t hurt Luca with his collar now because it was lost forever. The humans were safe back in their world, all Aquaphibian spies had been put in prison. So the couple relaxed happily together at last.

Alex hadn’t forgotten his promise to Luca, however—he intended to find the merman’s family and re-unite them. So after a few discussions with his fellow submariners, they came up with a plan how to do it. Luca could call out to any nearby merfolk with the help of the Stingray’s underwater microphone and broadcasting system, which the crew had dubbed the _aqua phone._

Tito and Dani set up the equipment and rearranged the connecting tubes so they fed into the tank where Luca now resided, so he didn’t have to get stressed about moving, or going into the sea. When he was feeling strong enough, he sat on the rock in his tank with the aqua phone at his mouth. The other crew members stood at a respectful distance, trying not to be too hopeful.

The merman called as loudly as he could into it, and the Stingray broadcast his call across the oceans as far as they went. The sound was like whale song—the other crew members flinched at the noise, but Alex listened in delight as he stood nearby at the tank. The merman called three times, so beautifully.

There was no reply. Alex felt tears welling in his eyes. Maybe Luca was indeed the only merman in the world, and all others were dead, or too far way to hear him. Maybe the Aquaphibians had killed all the other merfolk and only captured Luca. The young lieutenant turned away from looking out of the porthole to comfort his boyfriend, expecting to see him looking lost and unhappy.

But Luca was gazing at him with sparkling eyes and a broad grin.

“Did you hear that?” he shouted. “They’re coming!”

Alex’s eyes widened. “Hear what? There was no answer.”

“Poor, deaf, human boy,” said the merman with a wink. “I heard them! They’re coming.”

“Damn cheek!” said Alex, punching him gently on the arm.

“Right!” interrupted Captain Marc. “We need a plan. We’ll fill the airlock, you can go out of there, and we’ll take the Stingray down with you. Therefore, if the creatures who are coming are NOT merfolk but others with bad intentions, you can jump back into the Stingray.”

“But they’re merfolk, I know it—” began Luca.

“Please! Just for safety and to make me feel better,” begged Alex, and the merman relented.

“I’ll let you know what to do,” he said excitedly.

The crew carried Luca down to the airlock, he had to try hard not to thrash around with anticipation as he gave the others instructions about what to do. Tito filled the airlock and the merman swam out of the door, while the others ran up to the control room.

There was an anxious wait for everyone on the Stingray until Alex saw Luca beckoning them from outside.

“He’s ready!” exclaimed the lieutenant, and the submarine set off following him.

When they reached the depth the merman decided on, they waited, keeping as quiet as possible, and Tito activated the cloaking device, making the submarine invisible to anything but the most sophisticated equipment.

“I hope he’s right and it wasn’t some other noise,” Alex fretted.

“I’m sure it wasn’t,” soothed Dani, patting his arm.

They looked out of the portholes and on the display screen. A wave of water was moving towards the lone merman hovering in the ocean.

“Here they are,” said Luca’s voice in Alex’s mind.

The wave of water became a silvery mass as it got closer, then individuals could be discerned from it.

“He’s a little scared,” said Alex, clutching at Dani.

Then a lone figure emerged from the group. He had golden curls, a small crown on his head, and a silver tail like Luca’s. The Stingray crew were almost pressed to the display screen, fixated on the ocean scene. The curly haired merman circled Luca, scrutinising him closely.

“Is he going to fight him?” worried Alex, now clutching at both Dani and Tito, while Marc stared at the scene with arms folded.

“Get ready to take action if necessary,” ordered the captain, poised for action.

But the other merman reached out a hand to Luca, who took it hesitantly. Tito zoomed the screen focus in on their faces.

“They do look alike, they have the same colour eyes,” said Dani. “Do you think that’s Luca’s father?”

“No.” Somehow Alex knew. “I think it’s his brother.”

The two mermen embraced, and the watching merfolk moved forward. There was a deafening noise of something like whale song making the humans wince and put their hands over their ears. The merfolk began to dance round the embracing pair, and the water sloshed against the Stingray.

Suddenly the curly haired merman noticed the cloaked submarine and jumped in surprise, making the other merfolk shrink back. 

Alex could hear Luca quickly explaining that the crew were his friends, watching out for him, and the merfolk crept forward to examine the craft, touching it, looking at it, swimming round it and peering in every porthole. They looked suddenly very alien, not human at all, obviously not used to underwater craft.

The lieutenant felt a wave of sadness and turned to his brother. “I’ve lost him, Marc. He belongs in the ocean, not with me on the land.”

Marc hugged him but before he could speak, Alex heard a voice in his mind. “Come out to meet my family.” Of course it was Luca, and he peered into the window, beckoning with a smile.

“Wait!” said the Captain. “It might be dangerous, they might—”

“No, it’s safe, I’m sure of it.” Alex hurried to the airlock.

“You don’t need a suit,” said Luca in his mind. “Trust me.”

The young submariner bit his lip. He trusted Luca, but could he trust the other merfolk? Luca had taken him all around the ocean in a bubble, so surely this was what he was planning now. It was time to take a leap into the unknown. He held his breath and opened the outer airlock doors, then water flooded in.

In the Stingray, the captain clutched at the other crew. “What’s he doing? He’ll drown!” 

Dani and Tito clutched him back in terror.

But Luca swam superfast into the airlock and raised a bubble round Alex, filled with air so his lover could breathe. The merman and the human smiled at each other and Luca led the bubble out into the ocean.

The merfolk swam round Alex at a distance, looking curiously at him but they were too nervous to come closer. Which was fine by the lieutenant—it was scary enough being in the water without a wetsuit on. The open ocean was immense —trickling and swishing around him and Alex was amazed at the colours. His previous trips with Luca had been near the Aquaphibian island and along the ocean bed. This was like hanging in mid-air with vast depths below and heights above. It was all shades of blue and green—teal, azure, cerulean, sapphire, turquoise, even mint and kingfisher blue. The young human could have gazed at the colours all day, it was like being in a kaleidoscope.

Then the merfolk came closer to inspect him, especially the curly haired brother of Luca. He swam round, peering at Alex as if he was assessing his suitability as Luca’s mate. Alex smiled nervously, and this seemed to reassure the merman, who nodded and circled round Luca for a moment.

The brothers beamed at the human in the bubble and the word _Valentino_ came into Alex’s mind.

“Is that your brother’s name?” he asked Luca in his thoughts and was reassured that Valentino was indeed the name of the older brother.

“He didn’t know where I was—I was kidnapped as a baby by the Aquaphibians, and now he’s found me again,” Luca continued, holding his brother’s hand.

Alex smiled at them, then a movement caught his eye and he turned to see his crewmates waving from the Stingray.

“Can they come out to play too?” he asked his boyfriend, and after a short conversation, he heard the answer was yes. Luca towed him in his bubble to the airlock to see the others.

The first to come stepping out of the airlock was Captain Marc, of course, with his game face on. Alex tried not to laugh at his brother’s boldness. 

A mermaid and merman swam over and raised a bubble round the captain, then led him out into the ocean.

Alex was shocked to hear Marc’s voice in his mind. He was used to Marc telling him what to do—just not telepathically!

“The Stingray is on automatic pilot,” he said. “Any problems and it will save us.”

Alex knew that in an emergency, the Stingray could beam them back onboard, but it was very painful and disorientating when this happened, so members of the F.I.M. forces preferred to avoid it if possible.

The next one out of the airlock was Dani, and the merfolk were obviously delighted to see him as they swarmed round the small man, putting him in a bubble and dancing around him.

And lastly Tito, who looked nervous, but then smiled in relief to see the others in their bubbles, then he too was carried away by the merfolk.

It was rather like a party. The humans in their bubbles bobbed around, surrounded by groups of interested mermaids and mermen. The silvery blue creatures were fascinated by humans and swam round peering at the Stingray crew members. After a while they began to entertain them by dancing in formation and doing elaborate twirls, pirouettes and spins. Especially the curly haired one who was Luca’s brother, Valentino. Alex thought what a show off he was, but he did look funny dancing with his friends, especially when he danced with a really chubby merman who seemed to be his best buddy.

***

The Stingray crew decided not to go back to the human world. They sent messages to the F.I.M. control centre explaining this, and to their surprise, the F.I.M. understood. Admiral Suppo asked if they would stay in contact in case their deep understanding of Aquaphibians or merfolk was ever needed, and the crew agreed.

The tribe of merfolk led them to a beautiful island in the ocean where they lived, eating fish, fruit and vegetables, swimming with their mer-friends. Each submariner settled down with a lover, living half on land and half in the sea, but wherever they lived, it was happily ever after.

_Marini, Luca Marini_  
_What are these strange enchantments that start whenever you're near?_

_Marini, Luca Marini_  
_Why can’t you whisper the words my heart is longing to hear?_

_Your magic to me, a beautiful mystery_  
_I'm certain to fall I know, because you enthral me so_

_Marini, Luca Marini_  
_Why don't you say, that you'll always stay, close to my heart?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel quite sad finishing this story of the beautiful merman and the gentle human. But it's been fun! And now time for Christmas stories coming up soon ❤ ❤


End file.
